Agent Provocateur
by Twilight to Midnight
Summary: Bella Swan thinks Edward Cullen is a lying, cheating, embezzling, murderous bastard. He might just kidnap her and prove her right. AH. ExB. M for lang & lemons.
1. Perception

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to S. Meyer. Just playing with plots here.

A/N: Sigh! I've just restarted writing today and I thought this would be a good little experiment. Tell me what you think.

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The alley was dark and it stank of all manner of bodily fluids better not contemplated. Refuse and the homeless alike huddled in shadowy alcoves, shying away from the crisp click of her heels as she headed confidently down unfamiliar territory. Head high, eyes forward, she concerned herself with neither the unsightly surroundings nor the shifting shadows. A mangy half-starved stray darted across her path but still she walked until she reached the end and paused, half shielded in shadow herself.

A cold barrel of metal pressed suddenly to her nape and a slow subtle tension engulfed her shoulders as she lifted her hands slowly in surrender.

"Pretty little girls shouldn't be out after dark." A raspy voice hissed; his breath stirring strands of her mahogany hair.

The women turned, her arm shooting out in flash, disarming the vagrant while she gave him a swift, smart smack across his questionably stained face.

"I didn't know you cared Jake."

Jake's head snapped back and he grinned, blackened teeth visible between cracked lips which he pursed as he made obscene kissing motions towards her.

"Always Baby, never question it."

Bella gave him an assessing look. Taking in scuffed hole ridden shoes, long ragged trench coat and limp matted hair, she shook her head in disbelief.

"Why we couldn't have met at a nice quiet café is beyond me."

Jacob immediately straightened from his dramatically hunched posture, the joking expression dropping from his face in an instant as he grimaced.

"Your father wanted…"

She waved away the rest of the answer impatiently, scoffing as she rolled her eyes. "Yes. I know what Charlie wants. I swear, sometimes, it's like I'm still 5 years old rather than 25."

"You know he only wants to protect you. And hey, when the bossman says jump, we jump." Jake answered with a noncommittal shrug.

Irritation clear in her eyes, Bella's lips pulled into a stiff frown as she shook off the subject. "Is the rest of the team in place?"

"Sam is taking the night watch and Leah and Paul are patrolling the…"

Bella snapped to attention. "Fuck! You let the two hotheads partner?"

Jake held up a quelling hand. "We gotta let them sort it out. Better now than later when the heat is on."

"Shit!" She swore and wished to hell that Charlie had approved her request to include James as part of her team instead of Leah. "Shit!" Bella kicked aside a crushed can angrily as Jake watched her while she worked it off.

"We're your team now and you need to deal with that. I know you want your old team back but you're the one who wanted this assignment and you knew we came as part of the deal."

Bella rolled her shoulders tensely, rubbing her temples to quell the rising headache. Yeah, she had desperately wanted this assignment but she sure as hell didn't want to deal the baggage that came with it.

"Fine. Have Jared monitor their coms. If they so much as breathe wrong I want him down there to settle it."

"You got it, Bells." Jake gave her a good natured grin and shucked her jokingly across her chin. "Don't look so glum, darling. Aren't you glad I'm on your team?"

She responded in an instant, a beautiful grin lighting her face as she settled her ruffled feathers. "Yeah, Jake. I'm glad to see you whole and hale…and out of Russia."

A shadow crossed his expression before he could suppress it, but the smile stayed resolutely in place as he reached to embrace her, engulfing her much smaller body in nearly 7ft of muscle and heat which was welcome in the cool chill of the night. Returning his embrace only for an instant, Bella checked herself and pulled away, careful to show nothing but mock disdain as she brushed off a stain left on her blouse by Jake's questionable attire.

"Ok. Enough of that. Let's get down to business."

Jake, sensing her cooling emotions, reached into his coat and pulled out a non-descript folder and handed it to her. With his dark eyes settled heavily on the top of her head, Bella weighed the stack of documents in her hand with an impressed whistle.

"Langley really did their research."

A tense laugh followed her comment. "Yeah. Bossman thought you should know what he eats, drinks and shits. Just in case; preparation you know."

"Damn, I don't even want to know what Charlie is preparing me for." Bella retorted with a cynical twist of her lips. She looked up at him after doing a quick check of the papers. "You ready Jake?"

The dark Quileute gave her a brisk nod, giving away nothing in his expression. But Bella could read him as easily as an open book, could detect the tense set of his shoulders, the defensive turn of his body and the strengthening bracing of his legs. She reached out and gave him a solid affirming pat, knowing that he'd never ask for it but needed it anyway.

"It's a completely different situation here, Black. You're on home soil."

He didn't meet her eyes as he rubbed a quick hand over his face. "Yeah. Shit, Bells, I know." For a moment, he reminded her of the old Jake, back in the carefree days when they were children, but the moment was gone in a blink and the same life-hardened Jacob reasserted himself and once again stood harsh and aggressive, ready for the world.

"You better get going. Big day tomorrow." He said at last, the mood, filled with unspoken things dissipating swiftly after.

Bella nodded, letting it drop as she turned away. "Check all the eyes and ears again tonight. I want every angle covered. Did Quil have any trouble with the phone lines?"

"Nope." Jake iterated with a sassy pop of his lips, his grin showing off his interesting dental work once more. "The bossman cleared the way with nary a roll of red tape in sight."

"Good. Have him link everything to the van and to Langley, make sure his conversations are always monitored and analysed then –"

Jake gave her a disgruntled nudge. "This isn't my first time you know."

Bella grunted. "Sorry. Just…getting used to things."

After a brief hesitation, she began walking back the way she had come earlier, only pausing to look back to check if Jake was still where she had left him. The empty alley greeted her and she shook her head clear of the sentimental moment.

Leaving the slums, Bella quickly turned down several unassuming streets and hailed a cab to take her home. As the car pulled up at her apartment building, she shoved several crumpled notes into the driver's outstretched hand and slid off the fake leather seats and into the open city air. For a brief moment she contemplated calling Charlie to report on the night but figured Jake would do just that so she dismissed the notion. Still smarting from his gruff set-down the last time they met, Bella was in no mood to deal with her father.

A quick juggling act between her keys and the thick clumsy folder had her through her apartment door in a few seconds and Bella grunted in frustration as she struggled out of her jacket and engaged all her heavy duty security locks.

Quickly perusing the room out of habit, Bella found everything in the sparsely decorated room undisturbed and a quick check of the adjoining bedroom and bathroom confirmed the same. Returning to the living room, she walked into the kitchen and pulled open her fridge door. Three bottles of beer stood lonely in the illuminated white space and after a quick disgruntled shrug, Bella pulled one out and settled herself on the two-seater couch, one of only three pieces of furniture in the room.

Unable to put it off any longer, Bella opened the folder and poured its contents onto the coffee table before her. Photos slid out, scattering the space along with sheafs of handwritten notes and a USB hard drive. She ignored it all and reached into the plastic to retrieve the last item lodged within. A plain manilla file with crinkled edges sat unassumingly before her and with a deep mouthful of cold beer, Bella flipped it open and sat back with a curse.

"Well shit. Hello Edward Cullen."

* * *

The morning dawned hard and cold as Bella rolled quickly from bed and surveyed the misty morning from her window. The city smog rose with the mist as she turned away and made her way to the kitchen, passing the cleared coffee table and the silent television. After a fortifying cup of coffee and a quick top up, she made her way to the bathroom.

Setting the still steaming mug down on the counter, she stripped and showered quickly. Stepping into her wardrobe with the towel still draped around her, Bella gave a quick glace to the clothing which lay hanging there. She smirked at the assembled assortment of items and knew in an instant that her father had chosen most of the pieces. Not a single stitch of clothing would reveal anything beyond a glimpse of calf or perhaps a hint of collarbone.

Indifferent to fashion as she was, Bella shrugged it off and slipped into a shapeless grey pantsuit and dark flat heeled shoes. Sweeping her hair up in what she hoped was a professional looking style; she set about tucking an almost invisible earpiece into her ear and cleared her throat.

"Are you reading me?"

"Reading you loud and clear, Swan." Came the voice, clear in her head. From what she could discern, the voice was unfamiliar and concluded that it must have been either Embry or Jared, the two members of the team whom she had yet to meet.

"Better get your arse out that door." The man said quickly. "Cullen's already halfway to the office."

Swearing, Bella glanced at her clock, sure it still read half past seven and swore again. "A fucking early bird, just my luck."

A familiar chuckle greeted her as she grabbed her purse and left her apartment at a brisk walk. "Bells, darling, already late for you first day of work; tut, tut, what will Mr. Cullen think?"

"Mr. Cullen can bite my perky little arse." She snapped back as she stepped into the elevator, recalling the abandoned coffee, undoubtedly cooling in her bathroom still.

The man beside her gave her a queer look before she could recall herself and Bella settled for an awkward smile and a nodded greeting. He chose to ignore her which was fine with Bella as she tapped her foot impatiently until the doors opened onto the sublevel parking garage. Headed to her assigned space, she spotted the dark sedan and stuck her hand under the framework, coming away with the key and a wad of industrial packing tape.

"Fuck." She shook her hand free of the sticky substance and ignored the snickers in her earpiece. "I'm already late and you guys have to pull this on me?"

Sliding into the driver's seat, Bella started the car, slammed it into reverse and squealed out of the lot. With a good deal of cursing and some creative interpretation of the road rules, she managed to arrive at the midtown office in under a quarter of an hour. The underground parking lot of the imposing _Cullen Tower_ was still mercifully empty and after checking that Mr. Cullen's spot was equally deserted, Bella made for the elevator and quickly scanned her employee ID through.

Edward Cullen's office sat on the top floor, at dizzying heights that Bella loathed to contemplate, the large circular space held only four spacious offices for the head honchos and the large glass desks perched in front of each door for the assistants which guarded those sacred entrances.

Discerning the polished golden name plate of her target on one door, Bella threw her jacket and purse haphazardly on the glass desk and walked through his door without preamble. She was eager to canvass the space before Cullen's arrival.

The first impression of wall to wall glass made her frown. In terms of defence, the space was an open target; a sniper could easily position himself on an opposing rooftop and pop this guy in the head as he sat in his cushy executive chair.

Other than that…it felt, warm.

In contrast to its steel and glass exterior, the inside was covered in rich cream shades and dark blue tones. Polished cherry wood furniture sat where she had expected angular modern designs and his desk was a charming mix of organised chaos littered with framed photos of his family.

A noise alerted her that she was no longer alone and with a few sweeping steps, Bella positioned herself in the private adjoining kitchen space, turning on the sleek coffee machine and scooping in what was undoubtedly an expensive imported blend. As she bent to retrieve milk from the mini-fridge, a voice interrupted her.

"Who, may I ask, are you?"

The crisp, British accent rolled languorously through her as she straightened, met his golden eyes and calmly replaced the milk on the countertop beside her.

Let the show begin. "Good morning sir, I'm Bella Smith. I'll be your personal assistant starting today."

With a wide smile, she proffered her hand and stepped forward to reach him.

His grasp was firm and hot as he met her halfway, a polite half smile barely tilting the corners of his lips as his eyes delved impersonally into hers.

And there stood Edward Cullen, all 6 feet, 2 inches and 173 pounds of him and Bella had to admit that his picture didn't quite do him any justice.

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**A/N: Yay. End of the first chapter. I find that I like the third person infinitely more than first person when it comes to writing, allows me a certain degree of freedom don't you think.**

**Anyway, what do you think Bella's up to? All that cloak and dagger stuff...**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	2. Insult

**A/N: Chapter 2. Thank you to those who reviewed and added the story to their alerts or favourites.**

**Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns the Twilight world.**

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"Ms. Smith." Cullen caught her attention quietly, his eyes never straying from the papers in his hands. "This is my cousin, Jasper Hale. Understanding your efficiency as I do, I'm sure you've already made his acquaintance; perhaps gauged his shoe size and approximate weight."

Bella stiffened under the good humoured jibe but resisted the urge to grind her teeth lest the sharp eyed cousin spotted her expression and said something compromising to her boss. Instead she mustered a polite smile and mumbled a few pleasantries before returning to the transcription of Edward's morning meetings.

From across the table, she felt the heavy scrutiny of the newcomer and unconsciously tried to return his gaze. A heavy shiver of dread racked her body but she held herself stiff, letting her eyes run naturally across the screen of the laptop as she typed and clicked away, seemingly unaware.

Instincts screamed in the back of her mind and Bella tried to bring up a shred of memory concerning this "cousin". She drew an unnerving blank. In the innumerable files she had been sent from Langley, there was no mention of any branch of the Cullen family which carried the surname Hale. Both of Edward Cullen's parents were single children, neither had even a whiff of any step or half-siblings.

Affecting a casual tone, she turned and directed her most charming smile at the blond who watched her still. "Mr. Hale. I wasn't aware that Mr. Cullen had any cousins."

Jasper smiled, a slow and dangerous curl of his lips as a heavy southern accent rang out. "Edward has many cousins." He didn't elaborate and Bella hoped to hell that Jacob was pulling up every file on this lapse in their intelligence.

Edward chose that moment to speak, cutting her off mid-thought before she could compose an innocent enough enquiry.

"Would you order lunch, pet? For Jasper as well. And while you're waiting for the delivery, why don't you go pull up those files I want from storage."

Only years of training and anger management stopped Bella from snapping at the Brit for calling her 'pet'. Instead, she smiled and turned to leave, knowing that the bugs in the room would keep her well entertained during her little spell through the warehouse that was storage.

As she settled into the rows of sharply metallic filing cabinets, she adjusted her earpiece and turned up the volume. A song of static greeted her.

"Shit!" Bella fought her transceiver and hissed into the pin on her lapel. "What the hell, Jake? I'm not getting the feed from the boardroom."

Static greeted her again and Bella smacked the side of metal shelf in a flash of anger. She calmed herself immediately and looked around the sprawling space, ensuring that the room remained as empty as when she had entered. After a brief debate, she dismissed the urge to head down to the surveillance van to chew out the team and instead flicked open her cell to chew them out over shitty reception.

Her call was picked up on the second ring. "Swan, I have as much of a clue on what's going on as you do." Came the harried voice on the other end.

Frustration rising quickly, Bella bit back a curse as another assistant walked into the room.

"Well, darling. Perhaps you should call in a professional. You know you have no talent for electronics."

Picking up on her game, Quil snorted. "Gees Bells, I'll try not to be insulted."

"If you're going to whine, do it on your own time." She hissed under her breath. Pulling out a few drawers with quick efficiency, Bella had the requested files under her arm; the phone tucked against her shoulder and was striding out of the echoing space with admirable composure.

"Something is blocking the signal." Furious typing accompanied the statement. "There must be something…"

Growling, Bella threw down the phone on her desk and turned back towards the board room. Without bothering to knock, she swept in smiling brightly. Pausing just as she reached Edward's side as he lounged in the chair, she dropped the files in front of him, disgusted to hear that the conversation she had rudely interrupted seemed to revolve around game scores from the weekend.

Edward smiled mildly. "Get us some coffee, pet."

Bella hesitated, unwilling to leave.

His gaze stayed on hers, emotionless, silent, until she relented and left the room begrudgingly. Static still singing in her ears, Bella banged about in Cullen's private kitchenette, making a general mess and burning her hand. Twice.

Impatience and anger burned through her and rose like the swelling tide until she fought her own twitching vocal cords to stop herself from screaming.

Five weeks. Thirty five days. Eight hundred and forty hours of surveillance, hacking, stalking and the closest Bella had come to any of his secrets was when she was picking up flowers for one of his on-call supermodel dates, while she sent a sparkly trinket and dinner date invitation to an A-list actress on the cover of every tabloid. All she had concluded after sifting through banks accounts, private funds and offshore records was that Edward Cullen was a serial dater with a taste for thousand count Egyptian cotton sheets.

Even that annoyed her. Her initial assessment of silks and satins didn't fit him like a well oiled glove as she had smugly expected. Oh no, Edward Cullen had to possess a shred of class, ever so understated in his black and grey tailored three-pieces and concealed elegant Rolex.

For a brief burning moment, she fought her own body as it tried to acknowledge an instinctive thrill of attraction and pressed it back as she focused on her frustration yet again.

Their suspicions were well substantiated. They had informants who had given just enough detail to entice the CIA to form a taskforce. That huge of a network was bound to use an incredible amount of funds but nearly every cent of the Cullen fortune was accounted for. It just didn't compute. All those people didn't disappear and die silently for free.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Bella turned her thoughts to Edward. There was nothing about him that suggested he was a seasoned killer or even someone who regularly gave orders to kill. She had seen that body tense with frustration, seen those eyes spark with emotion, and seen him show the sweetest affection to Emmett McCarty's going on 70 PA.

From all reports, he should have been a cold calculating sociopath. The contradicting reality irritated the hell out of Bella.

Heading out of kitchenette, two mugs held expertly in hand, Bella picked up the lunch orders which sat cooling on her desk and returned to the boardroom. Neglecting to knock again, she backed into the room hands full and tensed instantly as a hot and solid male body curved around hers and two arms circled around her.

For a startling instant, Bella though he would embrace her and the thought translated into a spark which raced straight from her brain to her clit with a sizzling jolt. Discipline forced her to shake it off just as Edward plucked the food and coffee from her lax grip.

"Thanks pet." He murmured as she forced herself to turn and watch him walk back towards Jasper Hale. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off; Jazz and I are just going to catch up."

Unhappily dismissed once again, Bella's gaze snapped towards the culprit, for all intents and purposes, and noted the spark of amusement deep in the blonde's gaze. Those eyes missed nothing and Bella made a note-to-self to watch herself around him.

Feigning grateful happiness, Bella retreated, closing the door reluctantly with a firm snick behind her. With no other choice, she returned to her desk, snatched up her coat and purse and tried her best not to storm from the room.

Even as she pulled out of the Tower's parking lot, she fumed with indignation. This man was running circles around her team and her efforts. Charlie was impatient for results and every day that passed without new information heightened the risk that the CIA would lose interest and pull the case. She wasn't ready for that to happen yet. She hadn't righted the wrong done to Jake and she hadn't crumbled Edward Cullen's world like she had sworn she would do. Worse now that her assignment had essentially been whittled down to secretary, lunch lady and courier to Cullen.

A discreet beep in the car alerted her to an incoming call and she flicked a switch on the radio. "Swan."

"Bella."

Some of the tension drained from her shoulders. "Dad."

"Your car is leaving the Tower."

Bella defensively answered the unspoken question. "Cullen is catching up with his 'cousin', Jasper Hale."

A cool pause answered her statement and a moment later, she could hear Charlie barking orders at someone to pull up the files. A momentous pause later, Charlie spoke into the phone again, addressing Bella with notably more concern in his voice.

"Physical description?"

"Six two, six three, 200 pounds give or take, in his late twenties, early thirties. Caucasian, blond, blue eyes, southern accent – possibly Texan – maybe faked. No scars or tats that I could see. Good looking." She added as an afterthought.

"Don't have a Jasper Hale matching that description. Don't have a Jasper Hale related to Cullen."

"Good. That's good. No decent businessmen have unidentifiable 'cousins' resting in the wing."

Charlie grunted and paused to consider. "Could be that Cullen has no clue."

Bella scoffed. "Men like Cullen don't get that rich by being open and trusting. He has to know. Besides, Hale said something else to me. Said that Cullen has 'many cousins'."

Charlie grunted again. "Could be some frat thing, college loyalties and shit."

"Something to check out. Probe deeper into his Oxford transcripts."

She clicked off, smoothing some of her ruffled feathers as she made quick tracks to her apartment. The team was already there, raiding her fridge of its meagre contents.

"Report." She drilled as she threw down her keys and pried Sam's feet off her coffee table.

"Still not getting feed from the upper levels of the Tower but Cullen's house seems fine. Video and audio coming through clear."

"Fat lot of good that does." Bella cussed. "Bastard probably sleeps in a different bed every night. Don't suppose we could bug his girlfriends' places?"

Paul snickered, putting his feet on her coffee table just to annoy her. "There aren't enough bugs in the world to do that."

Blowing out a frustrated breath, Bella leant against the silent television, running her hands through her hair. "Jared and Embry still shadowing Cullen?"

"Yeah, and Hale. They've headed to a soccer pitch."

"A what?"

"A soccer pitch; you know, the world game, the world cup." Jake expanded jokingly.

"I know what soccer is, you brat. What are they doing there?"

"Playing soccer, by all accounts. Maybe they were teammates or something way back."

For the first time, Bella gave credence to Charlie's College theory and just as quickly, shook it away. "Are they saying anything?"

Paul's temper frayed a little under the questioning and his reply was sharp with annoyance. "Embry and Jared are having trouble not standing out in the bleachers, if they head onto the pitch, things will get slippery fast."

While she agreed with him, Bella glared and forced him to reign in his temper, doing the same with her own.

"Fine. Make sure you keep rotating in case he spots you. I don't want his high-priced ambulance chasers onto our trail."

Suddenly noting the absence, Bella swivelled her gaze around the room. "Where's Leah?"

"Checking the electronics at the tower." Jake answered as he polished off her beer.

Bella lurched to her feet. "I didn't give her clearance to do that!" She got in his face and hissed. "I'm leader. My word is law."

Jacob wasn't intimidated. "You never said she shouldn't do it."

Lips twitching in aggravated amusement, Bella scoffed. "Fine. But if she's arrested for B&E, none of you are to vouch for her, do you hear me. Let her have a taste of jail, see if that teaches her a lesson."

"It won't but you're the boss."

"Don't you forget it." She pushed Sam off the couch, likely only because he allowed her to, and slumped down. "Go on then. Get out. Check in with the team following McCarty and Carlisle and Esme Cullen, we need to know how deep they're all in this."

* * *

After the day of frustrations, Bella headed for the one place she knew would relax her, the supermarket.

She detested shopping in itself but nothing was more soothing than the mechanical drone of open cooling units filled with frozen foods and isle after isle of packaged, processed goods. It reminded her of the days when Charlie would be coming home from an assignment and her and Renee would shop for hours that day to make a special welcome home dinner.

Back then she hadn't understood the true significance of why Charlie coming back from a business trip was so important but that innocence hadn't lasted for long. Around her thirteenth birthday, instead of going shopping for groceries as was their tradition, Renee had left her in a hospital cafeteria to struggle with the vending machines while she sat vigil by Charlie's bedside. It had been difficult to keep her from the truth after that.

With her fingers tingling with the urge to call Renee, Bella instead grasped the ungainly trolley and steered it patiently down the first isle. Just as well that Cullen had given her the afternoon off or she would've likely starved considering the dismal state of her pantry and fridge.

Patient fingers pulled item after item down from the shelves, luxury indulgences mixing with healthy choices as she gave her gustatory desire free reign. The CIA could easily foot a grocery bill. After an hour of leisurely strolling, Bella rolled the cart to the checkout, ignoring the sneering attitude of the plastic blonde manning the counter.

"Do you have idea how many calories are in this?" She waved the chocolate mousse.

"An hour long early morning run…or in your case, three hours of popping gum and sassing the customers."

The checkout chick snorted and rudely dumped the mousse into a growing pile of groceries in a paper bag. She totalled the bill, eyed Bella's platinum visa and popped her pink gum around blinding white teeth and cherry red lips.

Gathering her things, Bella smiled thinly. "Thank you –"She glanced at the name tag on the balloon high chest "– Rosalie."

The women ignored her in favour of pointedly ignoring the man in the queue after Bella. He was trying comically to gain the blonde's attention but it seemed her aversion towards people discriminated against neither sex, race nor religion.

Bella raked the dark parking lot with practiced eyes and walked to her car, mindful of the harried looking mother with three tots at her side and the group of smoking teens laughing uproariously near the chain link fence.

Slipping her key, old style, into the car boot's lock, Bella dumped her bag and groceries and slammed the lid shut. Instinct had her patting her pockets for keys an instant later as she groaned. Fuck! That's what she got for driving a banged up Chevy for years.

With her phone currently sharing the same unfortunate space with her keys, Bella looked around noting the teens still smoking and the back of the mother disappearing into the store. Having no desire to question the lucidity of the smokers, she sucked in a breath and returned to the fluorescent lit haven she had left only minutes earlier.

Rosalie, checkout chick extraordinaire eyed her suspiciously.

"What do you want," The balding manager shot the blonde a disparaging look. "ma'am?"

"Locked my keys in the car. Can I borrow your phone?"

Rosalie sighed and reached under her counter and pulled out a bent metal coat hanger. She sent Bella a quelling look. "Happens a lot around here," She explained "usually to senile old folks and drunken frat boys."

Bella took the insult with a bemused smile and led the other women to her car, a few rows down the lot. Rosalie slipped the coat hanger with practiced ease and popped the lock.

"You're good at that." Bella commented neutrally.

"I'm good with cars, bikes and basically anything with an engine." She volunteered, warming to the topic.

"So why are you working here?" Bella opened the door and popped the boot, rounding the side so she could gather her phone and her keys tucked in a dark corner.

Rosalie snorted. "They don't exactly take me seriously." She gestured towards her _Swimsuit Illustrated_ body.

Bella knew how that felt. No matter the century, men would always outnumber women in the law enforcement profession. She reached into the boot again and rifled around her bag until she found her wallet. Grabbing a card, she handed it over.

"Tell them Bella sent you."

Rosalie eyed her dubiously before snatching the card away as she read it in the dim lighting.

"It's a garage."

Bella nodded. "They specialise in bikes, but the occasional customer will bring in hot rods and shit. Billy won't give you shit about being physically impaired." She made a joking gesture, cupping her breasts.

Rosalie did an almost admirable job concealing her smirk as she tucked the card into her uniform.

"Whatever." She went back to popping her gum and left Bella shaking her head in the lot.

Her phone chose that moment to animate, blaring out an unholy tune that Jake had found amusing. Punching the answer key, Bella snarled into the receiver. "What?"

"Am I interrupting something, pet?"

Bella's throat closed from the sound of his voice. "Not at all, Mr. Cullen." She said hoarsely.

There were giggles in the background of the call and another male voice chimed in with an onslaught of bass heavy music following. Edward began yelling into the phone, his words sounded slightly slurred to her.

"Can you pick up some beer…"

A giggle interrupted and Edward consoled the girl before he spoke again. "…and some champagne and bring it to my place. Oh! And go to _Cher Pierre_ and order us some dinner. Enough for six. Thanks, pet."

Bella saw red; she clutched the phone and fought for control. "No offence Mr. Cullen, but I'm not your servant –"

"You're my personal assistant. This means you assist me." A round of raucous hoots followed that statement. "Quickly now, pet."

The line went dead with the echo of mocking laughter and Bella slammed her hand onto the boot of her car, drawing the attention of the teens. She was sorely tempted to toss the phone into the nearest dumpster but not turning up as requested tonight was likely to get her fired; a situation not conducive to her ulterior motives.

Gritting her teeth, Bella eased herself into the car, stiff with resentment as she drove to the restaurant, suffered the humiliating assessment from a deprecating maître de, and bullied a reluctant bartender into including several bottles of expensive champagne and beer with the order. By the time she escaped the snooty French gazes, Bella was chomping at the bit, ready to give Cullen an earful and possibly a fist to the face.

Someone had left the front door open for her and the music blaring from the doorway was indistinguishable from the screams of laughter and drunken revelry.

Stomping into the central living room, aware that she should at least pretend not to be so familiar with the layout of the house, Bella met the arrogant golden gaze and threw down the carry bag. The bottles inside clinked together, drawing the attention of the rest of the party.

Cullen and Hale stared at her as the remaining four, all Kate Moss, Tyra Banks lookalikes burst into hysterical drunken laughter.

"Thanks, pet."

_I am not your pet._ Bella wanted to say, but the gleam in his eye suggested the futility.

"This is your assistant?" Said one with a heavy accent. "I would have thought you'd choose somebody pretty."

"Well I'm glad Edward has a frumpy middle aged assistant." Said another one of the amazons as she curled sinuously onto his lap. "More attention for me."

"She makes a nun look like a Victoria's Secrets model!" This comment was met with more raucous laughter though neither of the men joined in.

Fighting both her temper and rebellious tears, Bella spun on her heels and made to leave, only his voice stopped her at the last minute.

"Be helpful and serve the food, pet. I think the champagne flutes are in the left most cabinet."

Bella clenched her fists at her side, reminding herself with a repetition which bordered on manic that there was a bigger picture and smashing the smug, hateful smile off his face would do nobody any good.

Pulling herself together, her face smoothed into a mask of disinterest.

"Goodnight Mr. Cullen."

As the door slipped shut behind her, she heard Jasper's Southern drawl cut through.

"I think I like her."

The novel words almost made Bella smile as she slipped into her car and drove from his upscale settlement to her own apartment. Slipping out, she almost forgot her groceries and when her door finally closed her off in her own temporary slice of privacy, Bella was tempted to release of few of the angry screams clogging her throat.

Instead she rushed to her closet and ripped at the plain, frumpy, suit jackets and perfectly creased trousers. She grabbed the sensible flat soled shoes and pitched them at her bed, uncaring if her neighbours heard her.

Her drawer of cotton underwear followed the shoes, scattering every which way as she raged and vented. Bella wasn't even aware when the front door slipped open and soft footsteps followed her into the bedroom.

Warm arms engulfed her and held her steady until the fight drained out of her body and she turned her face into the familiar heat, eyes closed and her body heavy.

"Sorry Jake. I'm just…"She fought for words. "…just so angry. I would've hit him if I had stayed any longer." Bella could imagine the pity on Jake's face, knowing that half the team likely watched the debacle of Edward Cullen humiliating her.

Jacob held her tighter and Bella didn't want to imagine what he wasn't telling her. Cullen had probably burned an effigy of her just to top off the night.

"What a bastard." She said; her words muffled in his dark T.

"It'll make the take-down all that much sweeter." Jake replied, his head coming to rest on top of hers.

Bella's smile glinted feral in the light.

"Now, how about you make me some dinner from that haul you got by the door? I'm starving."

Bella smiled and quickly relegated Jake to cutting the onions as she prepped the rest of the ingredients. Once the oven was going and the pans' contents sizzling, the room filled with a sharp mouth watering aroma which reminded them both of better times.

When the food was done, they both settled on the sofa which was seeing quite some use and put the dishes and cutlery on the coffee table, pushing aside some newspapers Bella had been reading in the morning.

"Why don't you have any other furniture? IKEA is just a mouse click away."

Bella snorted. "Who am I having over other than you? Don't need furniture to accommodate a mutt."

Jacob whooped at the old adage and ruffled her hair. "True enough. Now, do you want to hear what the other teams have dug up on the others?"

"McCarty first."

"Well, his family and the Cullens go way back. We're talking centuries of old blood and probably some inter-marriages. McCarty himself started working for Cullen as soon as he graduated and is pretty much in on every major deal Cullen signs. We're nearly a hundred percent sure that they're in the same boat."

Bella took a sip of her water and swirled it around her mouth as she thought. "Maybe we should get an agent on him as well, then."

Jacob shrugged as he fought to swallow the huge mouthfuls he was forking into his mouth. "Now, Esme Cullen seems harmless enough. I mean, as far as we know, this deal is her family concern, the pipeline stretches very conveniently through the family holdings but otherwise there's no sign of a connection. She's more the crusading philanthropist of the family. Carlisle is still the figure head of the company but it's obvious Edward runs the show. He seems to prefer charity to economy."

"Ok." She breathed, acclimating the information slowly as she ate. "I want a close eye kept on Jasper Hale. If he's planning a longer stay, it would be worth it to get an agent on him."

"Agreed. Leah could do it."

Bella shook her head, dislodging strands from her ponytail. "She's too volatile. She could compromise herself. Besides, Hale is…observant, he reads people well…"

"Brandon?"

"Exactly what I was thinking." Bella affirmed with a nod.

"She's being recalled from India next week; we can arrange a casual meet anytime after her arrival."

Bella contemplated it for a moment before she dismissed the plan. "I want her well informed. Since we have nothing on Hale, let Brandon follow him for a few days, make her own judgements. She can begin when she feels ready."

Jacob finished the last mouthful on his plate and gleefully licked the porcelain.

"Are there seconds?"

Bella laughed; glad to put the job aside to keep her best friend well fed. When he had polished off thirds and three quarters of the dessert crumble she made, Bella sent him on his way to report to Charlie.

Clean up in the kitchen led her mind to the mess which awaited her in the bedroom. Shaking her head, Bella couldn't believe what had come over her. Leaving the dishes to drip dry, she picked up a pair of wayward cotton panties at the threshold to the chaos and patiently folded them. Many more followed until Bella had her emotions firmly tucked in the corner of her mind. Shirts, jackets and pants waiting, hung up once more as she closed the door firmly and set the night's occurrences aside.

Tomorrow was new day and she awaited it eagerly.

* * *

**A/N: Getting a better picture of things right? And the cast is being assembled from all corners of the world.**


End file.
